ATLANTA—The San Francisco 49ers went into the 2012 NFL season as strong Super Bowl contenders because of their defense. They will be playing in Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens because of their offense.

The 49ers who lost in overtime to the New York Giants in last year’s NFC championship game struggled to muster 17 points that day. The version that took the field Sunday against the Falcons in this year’s NFC title game was unfazed in the face of a 17-point deficit and eventually erased it for a 28-24 victory. No such comeback is easy, but with the balance and explosiveness we’ve come to expect with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, the 49ers remained cool on their way to taking control by outscoring Atlanta 28-7 over the final 43 minutes.

The 49ers’ defense isn’t as dominant as it was in 2011, and it was a bit shell-shocked when the Falcons spread the field and went right after their weakness in coverage. Matt Ryan consistently found the best matchup involving one of his elite pass-catching trio—wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White and tight end Tony Gonzalez. The result was two bullet TDs from Ryan to Jones as the Falcons put up 297 yards of first-half offense.

For many offenses that have to play catch-up for most of the game, there is a tendency to panic and turn to a one-dimensional, pass-heavy game plan. The Niners avoided that, and never let their second-year quarterback feel like it was all on him to bail them out.

“You have to look forward,” said Kaepernick, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. “Going out on the field frantic isn’t going to help you score points. You have to stay calm. You have to try to lead your team.”

Kaepernick ran the ball just twice, for 23 yards, against the Falcons after rushing for a quarterback playoff-record 181 yards in the divisional round win over Green Bay. Because of his performance against the Packers last week, Atlanta needed to focus its resources on taking away the big run from him while also taking away his big passes downfield.

In other words, the 49ers had an invitation to get back into the game if they stuck to running Frank Gore and throwing often to tight end Vernon Davis. The formula worked; Gore ended up with 21 carries for 91 yards and two TDs, and Davis was the 49ers' most dominant receiver (five catches, 106 yards, one TD).

What a difference a year and Kaepernick make—the offense has more options to the point the Niners can now fall back on Plan A.

“I told him just be sure to take care of yourself, be smart, make the good decisions,” Gore said. “I knew I was going to get a lot of opportunities from all week the Falcons saying they were going to stop Kaep.”

While Gore and Davis caused the most problems, San Francisco made sure to keep wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss involved, even if it meant getting them the ball on short completions where they could maneuver after the catch. Second tight end Delanie Walker (20-yard catch) and speedy rookie running back LaMichael James (who scored on a 15-yard run to open the team’s scoring in the second quarter) also came through with timely plays.

“We have a lot of playmakers. We can do anything we want,” James said. “We have fast players and strong players and it really starts up front.”

Since 2011, that description has been apt for the team’s collection of names on defense, with Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman in the front seven. But on offense, the 49ers have now complemented the NFL’s best line with a bevy of hard-to-cover threats, starting with Kaepernick. It’s all bound together by coordinator Greg Roman’s expansive playbook.

“It’s too big—it’s kind of scary when you first see it,” Walker said. “That’s the only way we can get to where we need to get to—everyone needs to be involved in the game plan.”

The 49ers’ offensive skill players have embraced an unselfish, all-hands approach since Kaepernick took over. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that their ultimate team effort got them to the Super Bowl.